Mastectomy brassiere



June 18, 1963 INVENTOR M1?! 1% LEW/5 ATT N E\ United States Patent Ofice3,094,125 Patented June 18, 1963 3,094,125 MASTECTOMY BRASSIERE MarthaM. Lewis, Oak Ridge, Tenm, assignor of fifty percent to ErretteClements, Nashville, Tenn. Filed Apr. 28, 1961, Ser. No. 106,273 7Claims. (Cl. 128-483) This invention relates to a brassiere, and moreparticularly to a brassiere for comfortably supporting the single breastremaining after a mastectomy operation.

The convalescence from a mastectomy operation is slow, requiring aboutsix months to a year before the incision is completely healed. Duringmost of the convalescing period, the patient is able to perform hernormal activities, but the surgical incision is still quite tender andsensitive to the chafing and pressure of binding garments.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a brassierehaving a single pocket for comfortably supporting the single breastremaining after a mastectomy operation, without any portion of thebrassiere touching the incision or any adjacent areas from which theother breast was surgically removed.

Another object of this invention is to provide a brassiere having asingle pocket for supporting the breast remaining after a mastectomyoperation, and in which means are provided for adjustably supporting thepocket to fit persons of different sizes without any portion of thebrassiere touching the area from which the other breast was surgicallyremoved.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent fromthe following description taken in conjunction with the drawings,wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the invention being worn by a personconvalescing from a mastectomy operation;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevation of the invention being worn by the persondisclosed in FIG. 1.

Referrings now to the drawing in more detail, the brassiere is shown asit is worn by a woman whose right breast has been surgically removed ina mastectomy operation. The incisions which had been stitched after theopenation are indicated by the reference 1. Although the brasssiere 10disclosed in the drawings is designed for supporting the single leftbreast which remains after the 7 operation, it will be understood thatthis invention contemplates the mirror image of the brassiene 10 forsupporting the right breast if the left breast had been surgicallyremoved.

The brassiere '10 comprises a breast pocket or cup 11, which may be madeof any convenient material or form, but is disclosed in FIG. 1 as havinga top panel 12 and a bottom panel 13 stitched to the top panel 12 inorder to provide uplifting support for the remaining breast. Both panels12 and 13 are preferably made from cotton material. The inner side edgeof the pocket 11 comprises a feather-bone strip 14 to prevent that sideof the pocket 11 from collapsing. The outer side edge of the pocket 11comprises a hem, backed with a feathenbone strip 15.

A shoulder strap 18 is provided at its front end with a bifurcatedelastic strap portion .19, which is permanently secured to the top edgeof the panel 12. The shoulder strap 18 is also provided with means foradjusting its length, such as the clasp 20. The shoulder strap 18 isadapted to pass over the same (viz., the left) shoulder as thecorresponding remaining breast and extend diagonally from left to rightacross the back of the person until it terminates adjacent the rightwaist of the person. The rear or right end of the shoulder strap 18 isprovided with adjustable means, such as the snap fastening elements 21,for securing the shoulder strap 18 to a waist band 22 by engagement withmating snap fastening elements 23'. The waist band 22 is adapted tocompletely encircle the waist of the person and is long enough that itsend portions 24 and 25 will overlap. The overlapping end portions 24 and25 are provided with adjustable securing means, such as the snapfastening elements 26. The waist band 22 is also provided with anelastic insert 27 which is adapted to permit normal breathing andcomfortable movement of the wearer.

In order to laterally support the breast pocket 11, a

'breast band is provided to connect the outside of the pocket to theshoulder strap 18. This breast band comprises a breast strap 30connected to the bottom of the inner side edge 14 and forming the bottomedge of the pocket 11. The strap 30 is adapted to continue around thecorresponding (left) side of the person and terminate in a permanentattachment, such as by stitching, to an intermediate portion of theshoulder strap 18, as disclosed in FIG. 2. The breast band alsocomprises a web 31 permanently attached by its front edge to the outerhem 15 of the pocket 11, and permanently attached, as by stitching, atits opposite or rear edge to the shoulder strap 18. The bottom edge ofthe web 31 is attached throughout its length to the bottom breast strap30.

Permanently attached and depending from the intersecting portions of theinner side portion 14 and breast strap 30 is a supporting strap 33 whichextends diagonally across the front of the person (from left to right),and is permanently attached, as by stitching, to the waist band 22,preferably to the end portion 25 adjacent the right side of the wearerswaist. It is important that this supporting strap 33 extend diagonallyas disclosed in FIG. 1, in order to provide both lateral and downwardsupport for the pocket 11 without having any supporting straps or otherparts of the brassiere extending across the incision I. The supportingstrap 33 may be further supported or stabilized by means of a second orauxiliary strap 34. The upper end of the auxiliary strap 34 is attachedto the upper portion of the inside hem 14, and is adjustably secured atits lower end to the supporting strap 33 by detachable adjustable means,such as the fastening elements 35. However, the auxiliary supportingstrap 34 is limited in length and direction and its points of attachmentto the pocket -11 and the supporting strap 33, so that no portion of thesupporting strap 34 will touch the incision I or the sensitive areas ofthe surgically removed breast.

FIGS. 1 and 2 clearly show that no portion of the brassiere 10 comes incontact with any of the stitched incisions I, nor any portion of thearea from which the right breast was removed. Moreover, FIG. 2 showsthat no portion of the brassiere 10 extends into the area of the upperright portion of the back.

It will be noted that the depending supporting strap 33 makessubstantially the same angle with the front portion of the waist band 22as the lower rear portion of the shoulder strap 18 makes with the rearportion of the waist band 22.

The shoulder strap 18 may be lengthened or shortened by means of theclasp 20 and the snap fastening elements 21 and 23; the length of thewaist band 22 may be suitably adjusted by means of the snap fasteningelements 26; and the position of the pocket 11 may be slightly adjustedby means of the snap fastening elements 35. Thus, not only the comfortbut also the size of the person may be accommodated by the variousadjustments provided for in the brassiere 10.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scopethereof, and therefore the invention is not limited by that which isshown in the drawings and the specification, but only as indicated inthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A brassiere for a single breast remaining after a mastectomyoperation comprising, a breast pocket having a top portion, a bottomportion, an inner side portion and an outer side portion, a waist bandnormally spaced below said bottom portion for encircling the waist of aperson, a shoulder strap attached to the top portion of said pocket andbeing adapted to pass over the shoulder corresponding to the remainingbreast and diagonally across the back of the person, means for attachingsaid shoulder strap to said waist band on the opposite side of theperson from said corresponding shoulder, a breast band connecting theouter portion of said pocket and an intermediate portion of saidshoulder strap passing across the back of the person, and a supportingstrap depending from the inner side portion of said pocket and beingadapted to extend diagonally across the front of the person, saidsupporting strap being connected to said waist band on the opposite sideof the person from said corresponding shoulder.

2. The invention according to claim 1 in which said supporting strapdepends from the bottom of the inner side portion of said pocket and inwhich the inner side portion of said pocket comprises featherboning.

3. The invention according to claim 2 further comprising an auxiliarystrap having an upper end and a lower end, means for attaching saidupper end to the upper portion of said inner side portion, and means fordetachably securing said lower end to an intermediate portion of saidsupporting strap between said pocket and said waist band.

4. The invention according to claim 1 in which said waistband comprisesoverlapping end portions, said shoulder strap being attached to saidwaist band adjacent one of said end portions, and said supporting strapbeing attached to said waist band adjacent said other end portion.

5. The invention according to claim 1 in which said breast band isnormally parallel to said waist band when said brassiere is worn by aperson.

6. The invention according to claim 5 in which said breast band isconnected to the bottom portion of said pocket, said outer side portioncomprising fcatherboning.

7. The invention according to claim 5 in which said breast bandcomprises a Web, said web having an edge integral with the outer portionof said pocket, and said web having an opposite edge attached to theintermediate portion of said shoulder strap.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS911,204 Busby Feb. 2, 1909 1,417,930 Mailleue May 30, 1922 2,388,757Miller Nov. 13, 1945

1. A BRASSIERE FOR A SINGLE BREAST REMAINING AFTER A MASTECTOMYOPERATION COMPRISING, A BREAST POCKET HAVING A TOP PORTION, A BOTTOMPORTION, AN INNER SIDE PORTION AND AN OUTER SIDE PORTION, A WAIST BANDNORMALLY SPACED BELOW SAID BOTTOM PORTION FOR ENCIRCLING THE WAIST OF APERSON, A SHOULDER STRAP ATTACHED TO THE TOP PORTION OF SAID POCKET ANDBEING ADAPTED TO PASS OVER THE SHOULDER CORRESPONDING TO THE REMAININGBREAST AND DIAGONALLY ACROSS THE BACK OF THE PERSON, MEANS FOR ATTACHINGSAID SHOULDER STRAP TO SAID WAIST BAND ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THEPERSON FROM SAID CORRESPONDING SHOULDER, A BREAST BAND CONNECTING THEOUTER PORTION OF SAID POCKET AND AN